2009-09-21

Now I have a soft spot for Danielle. I was the first person she started following on Twitter. I remarked that if Sarah Palin wins the US Presidency in 2012 and Danielle won the premiership of Alberta and initiated separation from Canada, in 2017 or so the two of them could participate in the hottest summit ever.

Is she going to be my choice when I vote for the new Wildrose Alliance leader? Hard to say. Jeff Willerton was actually going to be my candidate of choice: he had no chance to win, but its the same motivation that keeps people in Battle River-Wainwright voting for their local regressive NDP or Green or Liberal candidate.

I think I've tweeted about this before: its ultimately that old political game. Do you want to win (c.f. Jean Chretien) or do you want to stay principled (c.f. Preston Manning)? Bear in mind that the first comparison can also give you a Stockwell Day, and the second can also give you a Pierre Trudeau. Does the Wildrose Alliance membership wish to destroy the Tory dynasty next election and take the reins? In that case, you have to go with Danielle. She's hot, she's smart, and she's "media saavy". On the other hand, two of the three also apply to Justin Trudeau...or Belinda Stronach...or Barack Obama. Mark Dyrholm would be the other example: he's more principled (which, if you know Danielle, really says a lot) but also less electable. If you want to weaken the Tory dynasty and risk a minority Liberal or Tory-Liberal coalition screwing up Alberta in ways that will make Stelmach look like a kitten, Dyrholm is your guy. On the other hand (how many hands are we up to?) if Dyrholm wins a Wildrose Majority, we will see real progress, real change, and a real and immediate benefit to the people of Alberta. We may see some with Smith, but expect a Wildrose government under her to look a lot more like 1995 Klein than...well, what I would do if I was Prime Minister (or President, or Chancellor, or whatever I decided to confer upon myself) in 2020.

I didn't say it was an easy question, did I? [that's probably why its an age-old question, rather than an age-old answer -ed]. Count me in the undecided camp, leaning toward Dyrholm. Is it too late to convince Ted Morton to switch parties?